Hand wheel for manually operable elements



July 6, 1937. F. c. ERNST I 2,086,158

I HAND WHEEL FOR MANUALLY OPERABLE ELEMENTS Filed Sept. 30, 1955 Patented July 6, 1937 Uhll'lhh STATES eArssT orries HAND WHEEL FOR MANUALLY OPERABLE ELEMENTS Frederick C. Ernst, 'Holli s, N. Y., assignor to Jenkins Bros, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New dersey Application September 30, 1935, Serial No. 42,940

12 (Jlaims.

This invention relates to hand grasps orwheels of manually operable elements, especially to nonheat-conducting hand wheels for manually operable valves, and more particularly to hand wheels of the character referred to which include removable cover members.

In the patent to William G. LeCompte, No.

ber and being readily removable by pressure applied by a'thrust element through an aperture communicating through the rear wall of the body member with the recess within said hand wheel, the whole constituting a sanitary, heat-insulating hand wheel adapted to carry indicia on its removable cover member. While a hand wheel constructed as disclosed in this patent is thus possessed of many important advantages, experience has demonstrated that under at least some conditions of service the aging of the thermosetting material of which the cover member of the hand wheel is composed has resulted in said cover member becoming loose because of shrinkage. Numerous thermosetting materials, such as phenol formaldehyde and urea formaldehyde, suitable for forming a non-heat-conducting cover member as there disclosed have been tried, but this characteristic of shrinkage with age, in varying degrees, has been found to be common to such thermosetting materials.

It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the type characterized wherein the interlocking portions between the cover and body members are so constructed and arranged as to minimize the effect of shrinkage and provide a construction in which the cover member will not loosen and be too easily disconnected from the body member with age.

To effect an interlock between the bodyand cover members of such a hand wheel by relative telescopic movement of portions of said cover and body members, relative radial movement between said telescopic portions is necessary, and this requires that both the construction and the material used be such that at least one of said portions shall yield radially without breaking away from its associated member. 7

It is an object of this invention to provide a device of the type characterized wherein the cover member is composed of a material which'is not only thermosetting, non-heat-conducting, etc., but which is also possessed of the requisite resiliency so that an interlock may be effected by a radial yielding of portions of said cover member without causing a rupture due to such relativ radial movement. 7

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type characterized wherein the cover member so constructed as to include resilient members lying ina circle of relatively small diameter and so formed as to material and structure as to minimize breakage by reason of the relative radial movement thereof into and out of interlocking relationship with a cooperating member on the body member of the hand wheel. ,7

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type characterized wherein the cover member provides a smooth uninterrupted surface for the hand wheel, so that there are no projec'-' tions thereon or depressions thereon which may result in unsanitary conditions, wherein said cover member isout of direct heat conducting relationship to the means for securing the hand wheel to the valve stem, and wherein said cover member is so formed for cooperation with the body member of the hand wheel as to permit its ready application to and removal from said body member without injuring or marring the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type characterized wherein'said cover member is so constructed thatit may be readily formed in one piece from thermosetting material having the characteristics specified;

Another object of this invention is to provide a device of the type characterized which maybe produced economically, which will withstand fluctuations of temperature without undue distortion, and which constitutes an attractive and durable hand wheel including a cover member which may carry anysuitable indicia and which may be applied to the body member so that said indicia may be easily read.

Other objects will appear as the description of the invention proceeds.

The invention is capable of receiving a variety of mechanical expressions, one of which is-shown on the accompanying drawing, but it is to be'ex-.

pressly understood that the drawing is for purposes of illustration only, andjis not to be construed as a definition of the limits of the invention, reference being had to the appended claims for that purpose. 7 r Y Referring in detail to the drawing wherein the same reference characters are employed to designate corresponding parts in the several figures,

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a hand wheel embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an axial section through the embodiment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a bottom View of the cover member;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the covermember; and

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 2 showing the relationship of the cover member to the body member when in assemble-d relation.

As shown the hand wheel is composed of two parts, a body member H and a cover member l2. The body member H may be made of any suitable material, preferably a non-heat-conducting material such as phenol formaldehyde and is designed to be secured in any suitable way to a valve stem l3, as in the manner disclosed in said patent to LeCompte. As shown, the stem I 3 is provided with a squared portion Id of reduced diameter terminating in a threaded end E5, the squared portion passing through a squared aperture I8 formed in the thickened central portion of body member I! and threaded end l5 receiving a nut I! which clamps the body member against a suitable shoulder formed on stem l3. In order toprovide a suitable bearing surface at this point and to also reinforce the apertured portion of the body member H, the latter has molded therein a metal insert I6 having a squared aperture therethrough corresponding to aperture I8. Body member i! is generally dish shaped and includes a peripheral flange l9 which may be serrated as indicated at 20 so as to minimize slippage of the hand over the peripheral surface thereof. The wall of said body member between the central and peripheral portions thereof is preferably provided with a plurality of apertures 2| to permit circulation of air into and out of the air chamber within the hand wheel, and also to enable the insertion of a thrust element to facilitate removal of the cover member from the body member as disclosed in said patent to LeCompte. Projecting inwardly from the central portion of said body member is a boss 22 of relatively small diameter and provided at the inner extremity of its peripheral surface with an outwardly extending head 23 which forms a shallow groove 24 around the periphery of said boss between said bead and the inner face of the body member. The inner face of the peripheral flange IQ of said body member is also preferably provided with a plurality of, here shown as two diametrically-disposed, inwardly projecting ribs 25 having inner curve-d faces and designed to cooperate with correspondingly placed notches on the cover member, as hereinafter described.

The cover member I2 has a curved smooth outer face 26 of the same diameter as the body member I I and is designed to so contact the body member as to provide an uninterrupted surface therewith. Spaced inwardly from the periphery of said cover member by a distance equal to the radial thickness of the peripheral flange if) of said body memberis an inwardly projecting flange 21 which, as shown in Figs. 3 to 5, is provided with a plurality of sets of notches 28 of the shape of the inwardly projecting ribs 25 and so arranged that said cover member may have its notches 28 engaged with said projections 25 in a plurality of different positions. Where, as here shown, a pair of diametrically disposed projections 25 are employed on the body member, a suitable number of pairs of opposed diametrically disposed notches 28 are employed in the cover member. Thus said cover member may be mounted on the body member in different positions so that any indicia carried by the face of said cover member may be suitably located with respect to the body member to place such indicia in the relationship wherein they are most easily observed or read.

Centrally disposed within said cover member is an axially extending flange 29 which is preferably subdivided into a plurality of sections which are individually capable of radial resilient movement by a suitable number of slots 38 extending substantially the full axial length thereof. As here shown, said flange 29 has three slots 36 so that there are three separate sections of said flange each of which may bend independently of the other, although it is to be expressly understood that the number of such sections may be increased or decreased if preferred. flange sections at their inner extremity have an inwardly extending bead 3! of an inner diameter substantially equal to the bottom diameter of the groove 24, the inner diameter of the flange 29 being substantially equal to the outer diameter of the bead 23. The sections of the flange 29 may thus be engaged with the boss 22 as shown in Fig. 2 by forcing the bead 3| over the bead 23, the sections of flange 29 yielding outwardly sufficiently to permit the bead ill to snap past the bead 23. Thereby an interlock is effected by said beads which prevents removal of said cover member unless a pressure is exerted on said member sufficient to effect a bending of said flange sections and permit bead 3| to pass head 23. To strengthen said flange sections and resist undue outward movement thereof, each of said sections is preferably provided with a radial rib 32 tape-ring in axial thickness and extending from the midpoint of each section to the peripheral flange 2i, said reenforcing ribs being formed integrally with said flanges and with the intermediate portion of the cover member. Thus these radial ribs serve to resist radially outward movement of the respective flange sections sufficiently to result in rupture of said flange sections where they are joined with the body of the cover member, but they do not prevent such radial yielding o-f saidfiange sections as is necessary to permit telescopic movement of said flange sections over the beaded periphery of the boss 22.

Said cover member in conformity with the present invention is preferably molded in one piece from thermosetting material which is nonheat-conducting and which is possessed of sufficient elasticity or resilience so that the interlock between the flange sections 29 and the central boss 22 may be efiected by the resilient yielding of said flange sections without rupture of said flange sections. I have discovered that a material of the cellulose acetate type, such for example as that commercially known as Tenite, is particularly suitable for hand wheel covers of the character and construction described. It is thermosetting, and can be readily molded to the form described; it is sufiiciently resilient so that the cover member may be applied and removed many times without breakage between the axially extending flanges 29 and the body of the cover member; it is non-heat-conducting; it is durable and does not distort or shrink unduly with age; it can be readily polished so as to produce an attractive, smooth and sanitary surface; and it can be readily provided with suitable indicia of the character desired with devices of this character.

It will therefore be perceived that by the present invention a hand wheel has been provided which possessesthe advantages characteristic of the hand wheel disclosed and claimed in the patent to LeCompte above identified and which furthermore is so constructed that any shrinkage incident to aging will not result in a loosening of the cover member and the cover member may be repeatedly and readily applied and removed without breaking or injuring the cover member by reason of the nature of the interlocking connection provided between the resiliently yielding telescopic parts and the nature of the material employed. The hand wheel is entirely sanitary, because it includes no projections or recesses in its outer face in which dirt, grease, etc., may collect; the cover member is spaced from the metallic elements of the valve stem and the means by which the hand wheel is secured thereto by the body of air in the cavity within said hand wheel so that heat will not be conducted directly to the cover member, and

danger of burning the hand is thus minimized; the cover member may be readily applied to the body member in any one of a plurality of positions wherein indicia thereon is best located for reading, and the cover member may be readily removed from the body member by application of a thrust element through one of the apertures 2! in the rear wall of the body member; the cover member is so constructed that it may be readily molded in one piece, and by reason of the novel material and construction employed it is possessed of suflicient resilience so that it may be applied to and removed from the body member a great number of times without danger of the anally extending flange sections breaking at their junction with the floor of the cover member under the radial movements necessitated by the springing of the bead 3i past bead 23 in applying and removing the cover member; and the cover member by reason of its structure and material is durable in character, it does not distort or shrink unduly with time, and it may be given an attractive appearance.

While the embodiment of the invention illustrated on the drawing has been described'with considerable particularity, it is to be expressly understood that the invention is not restricted thereto, as the same is capable of receiving other expressions, some of which will now readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, while changes may be made in details of construction, arrangement, proportion, material, etc., and certain features may be used without other features.

without departing from the spirit of this in vention. While the invention has been particularly illustrated and described in connection with its use in hand wheels for manually operable valves it will be apparent that the invention may be embodied in the construction of hand grasps for other manually operated elements, and such is contemplated. Reference is therefore to be ing separate radially yieldable sections adapted. to yield to make telescopic engagement with said boss and secure said cover member to said body member when said cover member is pressed toward said body member sothat said flange spaced from one another whereby they'may have radially yielding movement when engaged with and disengaged from said centrally arranged boss, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body memberby pressing'said cover member inwardly with respect to said body member to engage said flange sections tele-- scopically with said boss. 7

3. A hand wheel for manually operable ele ments including a body member providedwith a recess and adapted to be secured to a stem, said body member having an. inwardly extending centrally arranged boss in said recess, anda cover member for closing said recess having a plurality of inwardly directed flange sections adapted to have telescopic'engagement with the periphery of said boss, said flange sections being separated from one another by slots and each of said flange sections having a radially extend ing rib projecting outwardly therefrom, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body member by pressing said flange sections inwardly to engage the same telescopically with the periphery of said boss. g

A hand wheel for manually operable elements including a body member provided with a recess and adapted to be secured to a stem, said body memberhaving an inwardly extending centrally arranged boss in said recess and said boss having a. peripheral bead at the inner extremity thereof, and a cover member for closing said recess having a centrally arranged inwardly directed flange'provided with an inwardly extending bead at its inner extremity, said flange adapted to have telescopic engagement with said centrally arranged bossand adapted to yield radially to permit the passage of its inwardly extending beadover the outwardly extending bead on said boss, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body member by pressing said cover member inwardly to engage said flange over the periphery of said boss.

5. A hand wheel for manually operable elements including a body member provided with a recess and adapted to be secured to a stem, said body member having an inwardly extending centrally arranged boss in said recess and said boss having a peripheral bead extending outwardly from said boss at the inner extremity thereof, and a cover member for closing said recess having an inwardly directed flange composed of a plurality of flange sections separated by slots, each of said flange sections having an inwardly extending head at its inner extremity, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body memher by telescoping said flange sections over said centrally arranged, boss, said flange sections yielding to permit the inwardly extending beads thereon to snap over the outwardly extending bead on said boss.

6. A hand wheel for manually operable elements including a body member provided with a recess and adapted to be secured to a stem, said. body member having an inwardly extending centrally arranged boss in said recess and said boss having a peripheral bead extending outwardly from the innermost extremity thereof, and a cover member for closing said recess having an inwardly directed flange composed of a plurality '10 of flange sections separatedby interposed slots,

each of said flange sections having a radially extending rib projecting outwardly from the outer face thereof and each of said flange sections having an inwardly extending bead at the inner ex tremity thereof, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body member by telescoping said flange sections over said boss, said flange sections yielding radially to permit the beads thereon to snap over the bead on said boss.

'20 7. In a non-heat-conducting hand wheel for manually operable elements a cover member having an inwardly directed flange including radially yieldable sections and composed of cellulose acetate material whereby said flange is both resilient for engagement with and disengagement from the hand wheel body and substantially nonshrinking with age to avoid loosening of the attachment of said flange to the hand wheel body.

8. In a non-heat-conducting hand wheel for manually operable valves a cover member having an inwardly directed flange provided with an inwardly extending bead at the inner extremity thereof adapted to snap over a bead on the hand wheel body and composed of cellulose acetate material whereby said flange is both resilient for engagement with and disengagement from the hand wheel body and substantially non-shrinking with age to avoid loosening of the attachment of said flange to the hand wheel body.

9. In a non-heat-conducting hand wheel for manually operable valves a cover member having an inwardly directed flange composed of a plurality of flange sections having beaded inner extremities and separated by interposed slots to yield radially outwardly, said cover member being composed of cellulose acetate material whereby said flange is both resilient for engagement with and disengagement from the hand wheel body and substantially non-shrinking with age to avoid loosening of the attachment of said flange to the hand wheel body.

10. In a non-heat-conducting hand wheel for manually operable valves a cover member having an inwardly directed flange composed of a plurality of radially yieldable flange sections separated from one another by interposed slots, each of said flange sections being provided with a reenforcing rib extending radially outwardly from the rear face thereof and each of said flange sections having an inwardly extending bead at the inner extremity thereof, and said body member being composed of cellulose acetate material whereby said flange is both resilient for engagement with and disengagement from the hand wheel body and substantially non-shrinking with age to avoid loosening of the attachment of said flange to the hand wheel body.

11. A non-heat-conducting hand wheel for manually operable valves including a body member provided with a peripheral flange to form a recess and adapted to be secured to a valve stem, said body member having an inwardly extending centrally arranged boss in said recess provided with an outwardly extending peripheral bead at its inner extremity, and a cover member for closing said recess having a flange projecting inwardly therefrom for engagement with said flange on the body member, said cover member having an inwardly directed slotted flange provided with an inwardly extending bead at its inner extremity, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body member by telescoping said slotted flange over said boss, said flange yielding to permit the bead thereon to pass the bead on said boss.

12. A non-heat-conducting hand wheel for manually operable valves including a body member pro-vided with a peripheral flange to form a recess and adapted to be secured to a valve stem, said body member having an inwardly extending centrally arranged boss in said recess provided with an outwardly extending peripheral bead at its inner extremity, and acover memberfor closing said recess having a flange projecting inwardly therefrom for engagement with said flange on the body member, said cover member having an inwardly directed slotted flange provided with an inwardly extendingbead at its inner extremity, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body member by telescoping said slotted flange over said boss, said flange yielding to permit the bead thereon to pass the bead on said boss, one of said members having a plurality of projections extending from its flange and the other of said members having a plurality of correspondingly arranged sets of notches in its flange, whereby said cover member may be secured to said body member in any one of a number of different positions.

FREDERICK C. ERNST. 

